The minivan
packed with suitcases, garment bags, and cosmetic cases, sped in the dark
down the lonely predawn interstate toward Huntsville International Airport.
It was only a fifteen minute jaunt and Carla spent every second of it
hoping that she hadn't forgotten anything important.

Once at the
airport, they rushed their luggage to the bag check and hurried up to
the green concourse. There they checked in and sat down to watch out the
window where their plane would soon await them. Boarding would take place
any minute and they'd soon be on their way.

The airplane
seemed to point straight up. Carla's ears popped twice before it finally
leveled and the seat belt sign went off. She gazed out her window. The
sun was just peeking over the horizon, a new day, a new start. They needed
this, a trip alone in hopes of bringing back the electricity and lust
that their marriage once blossomed with.

Carla relaxed
and looked around at the people on the flight. It was the first week of
June and vacation season had arrived. Families spotted the plane. Children
were bopping up and down in their seats, mothers commanding them to settle
down. Overly serious businessmen hiding behind their finance magazines
and laptop computers clearly perturbed at the lack of discipline aboard.
It was a circus. She dropped her seat back and turned toward her husband.

There was
nobody sitting in the seat on the isle so Dave decided to scoot over and
put the arm rests up for more room. Just like him, she would rather be
scrunched up next to him, but he needed his space. He lay back and slept.
Carla watched him, wondering what he would do if she suddenly laid her
hand on his crotch. Nobody would notice, not with their kids out of control
or their noses buried in their work. She scooted over in the middle seat,
grinned to herself, and eased her palm over Dave's zipper.

"What
are you doin'?" Dave growled under his breath. Carla withdrew her
hand and turned to the window. This trip was probably a waste of time.
She had such hopes for them this week. They were headed to Sierra Vista,
Arizona. The brochures made it sound like such an attractive place to
visit. "Seventy miles southeast of Tucson, surrounded by the breathtaking
natural beauty of majestic mountain ranges and the San Pedro River, Sierra
Vista boasts a temperate year-round climate, abundant sunshine, and clean,
fresh air."

A couple
of weeks ago Carla's mother had told her that her brother Mark was going
to Germany for a job interview and he and his wife would be gone for a
week. Carla called him up and made arrangements for her and Dave to stay
in their house while they were gone. "Sort of house sit," she
convinced her brother. So it was set.

The clouds
outside the window looked thick enough to walk across, step from one to
another as stones in a creek. She closed her eyes and recalled the days
some thirteen years ago when Dave would have hustled her back to the tiny
little cubicle for a bathroom, undressed her from the hips down and made
sweet love to her with his fingers. He would be chewing her nipples through
her blouse creating little wet spots, all the while she would be fighting
him telling him this was not the place and time and how embarrassing to
have to walk out with wet spots on her shirt, everyone would be staring,
they would know what the two of them were doing in here, and begging him
to stop. Now, she was not above shedding her panties right here in her
seat sliding her skirt up, and positioning herself on his lap demanding
that he . . .

She didn't
mean to laugh out loud, but she did. Dave turned toward her but she didn't
look back at him. When had things changed? When did he grow so old and
cold? "That's it," she avowed. "This trip was going to
restore their relationship, and she was going to do it." Carla fell
asleep.

Dave nudged
her awake, "Fasten your seatbelt we're about to land." They
landed at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport and quickly ran through
searching out the terminal where they were to meet the America West Express
to take them to Sierra Vista's Municipal Airport. They were scheduled
to arrive around 6:00pm.

The rental
car was waiting for them as planned. A map of the area was included to
help them get around. Dave drove, Carla co-piloted and they found the
address on Periwinkle Drive with no problem. The neighborhood was built
at the foot of the mountains. All stucco homes in soft pastel colors.
It reminded Carla of parts of Florida, minus the palm trees.

Carla dug
into her purse for the house key as she followed the stone path through
the yard. The house was U shaped with a courtyard in the center protecting
the entrance. She lifted the lever on the little iron gate and let herself
in. The stone path continued to the front door beside an old wooden bench,
curving around a miniature fish pond. "How beautiful!" her heart
leaped. The courtyard was alive with tropical plants, goldfish, and even
a turtle. Carla recognized a banana tree, water lilies and hyacinth, and
zebra grass blended among the rest of the forage in the mini oasis.

"Got
the door open yet?" Dave shouted. Carla turned to find Dave walking
up the path with his arms full of luggage. She fumbled with the deadbolt
and then the knob and gained entrance just as Dave entered the gate. "Where
do you want these?" he huffed. Carla instructed him to drop the bags
inside the foyer and went to check out the rest of the house.

On the kitchen
table Carla found a note. "I know you'll be tired and hungry when
you get in. There's a casserole in the refrigerator, just put it in the
oven at 350 degrees for half an hour while you relax, love, Jane."
Carla did just that. Not only was there a casserole but also a couple
of bottles of wine, deli cold cuts and cheeses, and lots of fresh vegetables.
They were set for the week.

She pulled
out a bottle of red sangria and poured it into glasses. Dave was reclined
and watching television. "We're on vacation, no television!"
Carla commanded, handing Dave his glass. "Surely we could think of
something more interesting to do," her voice a little more hopeful
than her heart. He took the drink from her without even turning from the
screen. "Ok," Carla resigned dropping down on the couch next
to the aggravating man. Maybe he just needs a little more wine.

Wonderful
smells escaped the oven. Carla remembered her hunger and jumped up to
pull the dish out of the oven. They ate, drank more wine, and cleaned
up the dishes. Dave collapsed back on the couch while Carla carried the
suitcases to the master bedroom. She had a plan.

She dropped
all of the bags in the corner but her own. She opened that one and pulled
out a lovely little gossamer black negligee with a short sheer robe. She
brought the garments to her face and breathed in their scent. Victoria,
Dave's favorite fragrance. "Mmm," she reveled in the scent.
"Enough. Time for the bath." Carla loved bathing and made it
a serious ordeal. She took the entire cosmetic case into the bathroom
and sorted through its contents picking out the bathing supplies. There
were the pearberry relaxing bath bubbles, body shampoo, foot scrub, lotions,
the list went on. "Oh drat!" Now she knew why she had the feeling
that she was forgetting something on her way to the airport this morning.
It was her brand-new waterproof, shaped like the real thing, still in
the box, gel vibrator that she had been saving for a special occasion.
She would have to be happy with the bottle of wine (well, not like that).

Dave was
snoring as she slunk back through the living room and in and out of the
kitchen to retrieve her glass and the rest of the bottle, hoping he would
not awaken. She slipped out of her clothes folding them and placing them
on the open suitcase. She pulled a hair clasp from her purse and pinned
up her long dark hair. She picked up the glass and bottle and headed to
the bath walking quickly past a full length mirror without even so much
as a glance as had become her habit. After two pregnancies she had gained
a few more pounds than she would have liked and didn't enjoy looking at
herself.

Carla dipped
her toe in first, through six inches of bubbles, into the almost scalding
hot water. "Whew!" she shrilled, drawing it back. She sat on
the wide rim of the garden tub hugging her legs with her head resting
on her knees. The steam felt so good. She relaxed her hold and let one
leg slip over the side and began to caress her fancy. She traced her feathery
vee noticing it needed a bit of a trim. She always kept it well groomed,
even shampooed and conditioned, and trimmed perfectly. It had probably
been a waste of time these last few years, as she was the only one whoever
noticed anymore, it was just a routine good hygiene thing she rationalized.
This felt good. She continued to stroke herself dipping into her warmth,
circling her clit and back again. She stopped abruptly. She was not going
to have an orgasm alone, again, that was not the mission for this trip.

The water
had cooled some and Carla slid in. She found her pink rubber scrubbing
glove and covered it with body shampoo inhaling the sweet fruity pearberry
scent. She scrubbed herself all over until her skin tingled. She noticed
a towel hanging from the bar above her head, pulled it down, and rolled
it up for her neck to rest on while she relaxed and soaked.

In the bath,
the water grew chilly and Carla's skin shriveled. She stepped out and
toweled off, she spread lotion all over her body, and slipped on the new
nighty (nighty, a funny name for an article not intended to be worn more
than ten minutes, let alone, over night). The light material felt cool
and wispy against her body. Her nipples were still erect from the cold
water and she liked the way they felt as they rubbed against the new fabric.

Carla swallowed
the last of the sangria, hunted for a cigarette lighter in her purse,
and crept back into the living room where Dave was still out cold. There
were candles, all vanilla scented, scattered around the room. She lit
a few of them and dimmed the lights casting a soft golden glow over the
room. Kneeling down in front of him, she grasped the zipper of his jeans.
He awoke. Carla grinned at him. He groaned. She inched the zipper down.
Dave raised his hips and let her peel his jeans down to his knees. Her
hands caressed his maleness through his blue and green striped briefs.

He began
to react. Judging by his expressionless demeanor, it was probably more
automatic than enthusiastic. She drew him out through the slit in his
shorts and worked him up until he had reached his fullest.

He was really
nicely made. A full eight inches long and thick, really thick. Dave usually
hated to be encumbered by clothing but was making no effort to shake his
jeans and shorts off. Carla kept it up caressing until finally she brought
him to her mouth. She teased Dave's best asset with her tongue, fluttering
across it's very tip and circling it around and around. Carla licked,
then blew on it. Dave shuddered and scooted in his seat to try and cover
the reflex. She smiled as she clamped her mouth down and slid him in.

It was as
if he wasn't even there. Carla closed her eyes and nursed Dave's manhood.
She held and kneaded his balls, rubbed the base of his shaft with her
whole hand. She pushed and pulled him in and out, slid her teeth up and
down until she was lightheaded. Her idle hand brushed across her breasts.
Carla twisted and twirled her nipples until they were once again erect.
Her hand dropped down to her own soft woolen patch. Her fingers strolled
all around, to all the right places. Carla knew exactly what she liked
and went straight for the maximum pleasure zone. She was already dripping
wet. So accustomed to going it alone, she could bring herself to orgasm
in just a few minutes if she hadn't much time but preferred to draw it
out.

Carla stopped
herself and withdrew her hand from underneath her costume. Her eyes turned
upward to her husband's. Dave's eyes were closed. His hands were balled
into fists. This was not at all what she had in mind for tonight. She
didn't want to pleasure herself. She wanted Dave's arms to hold her close,
his lips to whisper how much he loved her. She wanted his large manly
hands to caress her heaving breasts, and his wonderfully magical fingers
to cause her whole body to tingle, and she wanted his loving wand deep
inside her making them one.

Dave sensed
the change in her and opened his eyes. She let his member slide from her
mouth and rose to her feet, their eyes still locked on each other. She
slipped her robe off of her shoulders and let it drop while searching
his eyes for even a hint of emotion. None existed. Sex had grown into
such a routine. Maybe once a month Dave humored her by letting her play
with him until she was done. Then that was that.

The scent
of vanilla filled the room, filled her senses. She leaned her head back
and inhaled long and hard as she placed her knees on the couch straddling
his hips. Steadying herself with a hand on the back of the couch, she
used her other to direct Dave inside her and lowered her hips to take
him all in. She held her breath hoping to make the sensations of the moment
last. Then her body gained a mind of its own and she had to go with it.
She raised her hips and lowered as he rose to meet her. She bobbed and
he thrust more feverishly until he let out a yell and spilled his milk
inside of her. Carla collapsed on his broad chest listening to the rapid
pulsating of his heart.

"Honey,"
Dave groaned, "it's hot, how about getting up?"

"Well
of course it's hot. You're still fully dressed," she wanted to rebuke,
but instead, she whispered, "I love you Sweet," and crawled
off of him. She stood and picked up her robe, blew out the candles, and
disappeared into the bedroom, alone.